The following transcript is from the 4/14/00 Chief Illiniwek dialogue "intake session". It is an unedited excerpt from the original U.I. document.

Last year, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, which is composed of three federal judges, canceled the seven trademarks belonging to the Washington Redskins football team. In their ruling, they cited as one of their reasons the fact that there is an infinite array of possible names that can be used for the team. They aren't limited to Redskins. There is no need for them to maintain the legal right to use the term. In other words, the judges said there are plenty of names out there that aren't disparaging. This one is, so pick something else.

Women Against Racism felt similarly. It is clear that many people in this community, many students, staff, faculty and alumni are embarrassed by Chief Illiniwek and wish that our teams had a symbol of which they could be proud. This is why we sponsored a contest, A New Mascot for a New Millennium. The community responded enthusiastically and sent 80 suggestions. Illinois Tornadoes, Rolling Thunder, Rattlesnakes, Illini Lightening, the Nighthawks, the Railsplitters, the Storm, the Blue Stems, the Springtails, the Blades.

Each of these entries was accompanied by a rationale and a graphic design. Some contestants added cheers and half-time activities. The winning entry, chosen by a panel of judges, was Illinois Prairie Fire, submitted by three different contestants, including a team of two fourth graders.

Prairie Fire was chosen because it leaps high, jumps from spot to spot, is powerful and alive and renews and renourishes the prairie when it passes. The logo maintains the Illinois colors, orange and blue.

All of the values that have been symbolized by Chief Illiniwek, bravery, courage, loyalty, school spirit, can be symbolized even better by a new mascot with which everyone can identify.

A new mascot that doesn't demean any ethnic group will be welcomed at the Universities at Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin as Chief Illiniwek is not. The professional academic societies that are boycotting our state will once again hold conferences on this campus.

The University of Illinois is the most prestigious institution in our state. And if it would put just a portion of the resources into a new athletic symbol that it has put into promoting and justifying the reverence and the aura that surrounds Chief Illiniwek, the new symbol would surely succeed.

We firmly believe that it is possible to create a community based on equality and mutual respect. We know that the greatest obstacle to this is ignorance and miseducation.

We know this community and this campus. We ask the University to stop teaching our children, whether they are Native American, African-American, Latino, Asian, American, white or any mixture thereof, that stereotyping another group of people is acceptable as long as you do it dramatically and with good graphics. Just because it's a positive stereotype doesn't make it any less a stereotype. Just like the idea that all Asian kids are math whizzes, or all African-American kids are basketball champions, positive stereotypes keep us from seeing real people.

No professor who taught engineering or geography the way it was taught in 1926 would get tenure at this University, they would be laughed at. But the leadership of this University teaches race relations that were practiced in 1926. The 1926 fight song contained the word darkies. And the student theatricals included minstrel shows. The students of 1926 assumed that Indians would soon vanish forever. They also assumed that only white men had the right to leadership positions in government and business.

In the south, white women often used to have and I think continue to have, a mammy doll in their kitchen. They claimed to love that little doll. But that doesn't mean they love or respect African-American women. This means that they feel affection for a romanticized past that never existed, a past where slave women loved their masters and stayed with them after emancipation. It's a fantasy. The affection for Chief Illiniwek is just like the affection for Aunt Gemina.

It seems that one of the greatest stumbling blocks to those who continue to embrace the Chief as an honored symbol is the confusion over intent versus consequences. They know themselves to be good people, so how could good people do bad things? The issue is not about intentions, as noble as they may be, but about consequences. The consequences of continuing to represent Native people in this one dimensional way is to perpetuate a stereotype, demean Native people, offend all people of conscience and restrict the campus community and nation from moving together into the 21st century.

In the final analysis, it is only the consequences of our actions that make the difference. This boils down to a moral issue, not a popularity contest. If you took a vote today, the Chief would definitely win. But if you took a vote on slavery in the south in 1865, guess where I would be today?

Stereotypes and racism cannot be reformed. They must be eliminated. Proposing to reform the Chief is like proposing to reform slavery. Can we keep them if we promise to only beat them on Saturdays? Can we keep them if we promise to let them eat twice a day? The answer to the question of racism and all forms of oppression will always be no.

As community women, we have been here on this issue and will remain. We are long distance runners. And we ain't no ways tired. So when it comes to Chief Illiniwek, it ain't over until it's over. Thank you.

MODERATOR GARIPPO: Stephen Kaufman.

See the U.I. Dialogue on Chief Illiniwek page for more transcripts and information.